Ellison and Conway: Sipping cocktails poolside?

Forget the Oracle-PeopleSoft trial at the Delaware Chancery Court.

The Hotel Du Pont may be the place to be for some potentially unscripted action this week between Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Craig Conway, PeopleSoft's recently ousted chief executive.

These industry titans and acerbic arch rivals, who battled it out over Oracle's hostile attempt to buy PeopleSoft, have inadvertently booked lodging at the same historic hotel while their trial is under way at the Delaware Chancery Court. Oracle is fighting to remove PeopleSoft's "poison pill" defense, which would release more stock on the market if Oracle acquired a large percentage of PeopleSoft shares. Like Ellison, Conway--who ran PeopleSoft when the defense was implemented--is testifying at the trial.

But maybe the old world elegance of the Hotel Du Pont, with its rich upholstery, delicate antiques and fragile chandeliers, will keep the shoot-from-the-hip executives from going off half-cocked.

The Hotel Du Pont, a four-star establishment built in 1913, has hosted such guests as Charles Lindbergh, Bob Hope, Barry Manilow and actress Reese Witherspoon. And, now, it can expand its list to include Conway, a registered guest through Oct. 15, and Ellison, who reserved a room for Thursday night.